TMI Blog2019 (7) TMI 1855X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The mere fact that the women workers stitched the garments at home, would make no difference. It is the admitted position that the women workers were paid wages directly by the Respondent Company on a per-piece basis for every garment stitched. The issue in the present case is squarely covered by the decision of this Court in Silver Jubilee Tailoring House and Ors. v. Chief Inspector of Shops and Establishments and Ors. [ 1973 (9) TMI 100 - SUPREME COURT] . The Appellants therein were engaged in the business of producing garments. They employed workers who were provided with the cloth, and were instructed by the Appellants how to stitch it. The workers were paid on piece-rate basis. If a worker failed to stitch a garment as per the instructions, the Appellants rejected the work, and asked the worker to re-stitch the garment. This Court held that such workers fell within the definition of person employed Under Section 2(14) of the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Shops and Establishments Act, 1956. In the present case, the women workers were certainly employed for wages in connection with the work of the Respondent Company. The definition of employee Under Section 2(f) i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hines used by the women workers were owned by them, and not provided by the Respondent Company. 2.4. On 12.03.1991, Appellant No. 1 - Officer In-Charge, Sub-Regional Provident Fund Office, issued a Show Cause Notice to the Respondent Company calling upon it to pay the Provident Fund contributions for the women workers. The Balance Sheet of the Respondent Company for the year 1988 - 89, revealed large debits towards salary and wages for direct and indirect workers, but the Respondent Company made a false statement that it had only 41 employees. 2.5. On 30.11.1992, Appellant No. 1 issued summons to the Respondent Company for personal hearing Under Section 7-A of the EPF Act. 2.6. The representative of the Respondent Company appeared before Appellant No. 1, and contended that the women workers who were fabricating garments for the Respondent Company, were not their employees, and hence not covered by Section 2(f) of the EPF Act. Therefore, even though wages were paid to those women workers, the Respondent Company was not liable to pay Provident Fund contribution in respect of them. 2.7. The Provident Fund Officer - Appellant No. 1 vide Order dated 19.04.1993 held that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nce, the work performed by them, could be done by their relatives, or any other person on their behalf. Furthermore, the women workers were not bound to report to the production centers regularly, nor were they required to work at the production centers. The Respondent Company exercised no supervisory control over the women workers. 6. The short issue which arises for consideration is whether the women workers employed by the Respondent Company are covered by the definition of employee Under Section 2(f) of the EPF Act or not. Section 2(f) of the EPF Act is set-out hereinbelow for ready reference: (f) employee means any person who is employed for wages in any kind of work, manual or otherwise, in or in connection with the work of an establishment, and who gets, his wages directly or indirectly from the employer, and includes any person,-- (i) employed by or through a contractor in or in connection with the work of the establishment; (ii) engaged as an apprentice, not being an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961 (52 of 1961), or under the standing orders of the establishment; 6.1. The definition of employee Under Section 2(f) of the EPF Act is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g error apparent on record that whenever payment is made by piece rate, there is no relationship of master and the servant and that such relationship can only be as between principal and principal and therefore, the Respondents were independent contractors. Frankly, we must say that the Tribunal has not clearly grasped the meaning of what is the piece rate, If every piece rated workmen is an independent contractor, lakhs and lakhs of workmen in various industries where payment is correlated to production would be carved out of the expression 'workmen' as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act. In the past the test to determine the relationship of employer and the workmen was the test of control and not the method of payment. Piece rate payment meaning thereby payment correlated to production is a well-recognised mode of payment to industrial workmen. In fact, wherever possible that method of payment has to be encouraged so that there is utmost sincerity, efficiency and single minded devotion to increase production which would be beneficial both to the employer, the workmen and the nation at large. But the test employed in the past was one of determining the degree of contro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the contentions raised by the Appellants therein, and held that: 8. ...Clause (f) of Section 2 of that Act defines an employee to mean any person who is employed for wages in any kind of work, manual or otherwise, in or in connection with the work of an establishment, and who gets his wages directly or indirectly from the employer, and includes any person employed by or through a contractor in or in connection with the work of the establishment. It will be noticed that the terms of the definition are wide. They include not only persons employed directly by the employer but also persons employed through a contractor. Moreover, they include not only persons employed in the factory but also persons employed in connection with the work of the factory. It seems to us that a home worker, by virtue of the fact that he rolls beedis, is involved in an activity connected with the work of the factory. We are unable to accept the narrow construction sought by the Petitioners that the words in connection with in the definition of employee must be confined to work performed in the factory itself as a part of the total process of the manufacture. ... 10. In the context of the con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eceive after toiling hard for the same. Hence, the provisions under the EPF Act have to be interpreted in a manner which is beneficial to the workmen. 6.9. In the present case, the women workers were certainly employed for wages in connection with the work of the Respondent Company. The definition of employee Under Section 2(f) is an inclusive definition, and includes workers who are engaged either directly or indirectly in connection with the work of the establishment, and are paid wages. In the present case, the women workers were directly engaged by the Management in connection with the work of the Respondent Company, which was set up as a ready-made garments industry in Marathwada. The women workers were paid wages on per-piece basis for the services rendered. Merely because the women workers were permitted to do the work off site, would not take away their status as employees of the Respondent Company. 7. The Respondent Company placed reliance on this Court's decision in C.E.S.C. Limited and Ors. v. Subhash Chandra Bose and Ors., (1992) 1 SCC 441 wherein it was held that: 14. In the textual sense 'supervision' of the principal employer or his agent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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